Stock Market & Financial Investment News

On The Fly: Midday WrapStocks on Wall Street were higher at midday after Alcoa (AA) unofficially kicked off the earnings season last night by matching analysts' earnings estimates and topping revenue expectations. Alcoa's report may be lending a sense of optimism that companies may be able to exceed the lowered expectations for the earnings season now getting underway. The market's bounce from its recent run of lower closes may not be long lived if lawmakers do not make progress, as highlighted again in a Washington Post report that said the U.S. may reach the current limit on the debt ceiling as soon as February 15, about two weeks earlier than previously expected... ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the EIA's weekly petroleum status update showed that inventories of crude oil built up but by fewer barrels than expected, while gasoline and distillates built up by more than expected. In Europe, industrial output in Germany grew slightly in November but fell short of expectations, as the 0.2% adjusted monthly rise missed expectations for a 1.0% increase... COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Clearwire (CLWR) rose nearly 8% to $3.15 after the company got an unsolicited $3.30 per share buyout bid from Dish Network (DISH). The offer sets up a potential takeover battle with Sprint (S), which already owns a majority stake in Clearwire and has a deal in place to acquire the remaining interest... Another potential Wall Street showdown made headlines, related to two prominent hedge fund managers and their conflicting positions on Herbalife (HFL). Shares of Herbalife spiked higher and were up almost 5% near noon, after hedge fund Third Point, managed by Dan Loeb, disclosed an 8.24% passive stake. The holding puts Loeb in opposition with Bill Ackman of Pershing Square, who has a large and well publicized short position in the company... MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was NuVasive (NUVA), which rose nearly 12% after reporting preliminary revenue that beat expectations and having its stock upgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Capital. Also higher were shares of Global Payments (GPN), up about 6% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock and RBC Capital raised its price target on shares following the company's report and increased guidance. Among the noteworthy losers was Apollo Group (APOL), which fell 9% following more than one downgrade of the stock after its Q1 report. Also lower were shares of Hawaiian Holdings (HA), which slid over 6% following a two notch downgrade to Underperform from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch... INDICES: Near noon, the Dow was up 80.63, or 0.60%, to 13,409.48; the Nasdaq was up 14.66, or 0.47%, to 3,106.47; and the S&P 500 was up 4.86, or 0.33%, to 1,462.01.

T-Mobile announces 'Un-contract,' 'Carrier Freedom' initiativesToday, during an event held to announce Un-carrier 9.0 − Un-carrier for Business − T-Mobile (TMUS) unveiled two new major Un-carrier initiatives for consumers. First, with T-Mobile’s new "Un-contract," customers will now have more certainty in their wireless pricing than ever before. Consumers and businesses with the Simple Choice rate plan will find that rates won’t go up as long as they’re a T-Mobile customer and keep their plan − and even customers with unlimited 4G LTE will lock in their rates for a minimum of two years. The Un-carrier also launched "Carrier Freedom," a new move where T-Mobile will now cover all outstanding phone and tablet payments up to $650 per line when customers from AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) or Sprint (S) switch to T-Mobile.

Herbalife wins dismissal of class action 'pyramid scheme' lawsuitOn March 16, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted Herbalife its motion to dismiss a class action complaint brought on behalf of shareholders who allege that the company and its executives violated federal securities laws by misrepresenting the "nature, scope and legality" of the company's business and operations. According to the plaintiffs, Herbalife and its executives, including CEO Michael Johnson, misrepresented Herbalife as a legitimate multi-level marketing company when it "is actually an illegal pyramid scheme." The court concluded that the suit's plaintiffs have not adequately pled loss causation, meaning that the court need not consider Herbalife’s alternative arguments, according to a court filing. Shares of Herbalife are up 3% in pre-market trading after the court dismissal was widely reported by Bloomberg last night.

DISH announces four new A+E Network channelsDish's (DISH) Sling TV announced that four A+E Networks’ channels -- A&E, HISTORY, H2 and Lifetime -- will be available in its “Best of Live TV” core package by the end of March. The company’s core package will remain priced at $20 per month. With this update also comes the introduction of two new add-on packs, “Lifestyle Extra” and “World News Extra,” each priced at an additional $5 per month. Sling TV will announce A+E Networks’ launch date and Video-On-Demand availability within the coming weeks. Sling TV plans to provide existing “News & Info Extra” subscribers with both the “Lifestyle Extra” and “World News Extra” for a total of $5 per month. A&E is jointly owned by Disney (DIS) and Hearst.